NY Gov. Hochul defies union bosses, doubles down on school choice 

New York Gov. Kathy Hochul has reaffirmed her support for Trump’s federal school choice program despite teachers’ unions pressuring her to opt out.

In May, Hochul announced her plan to opt her state into the new Education Freedom Tax Credit, acknowledging its “potential to help New York students and schools.”

The program will launch on Jan. 1, 2027, and allows Americans to receive a tax credit for donations of up to $1,700 to scholarship granting organizations, which then bundle them into school choice scholarships. The scholarships can be used by public or private school students for tuition, tutoring and other educational expenses.

To be eligible, students must live in a state that has opted in – 31 so far – and come from families earning 300% or less of the median local income, which varies significantly by city and region.

However, Hochul has waited to formally opt in until the official guidelines for the program are released by the Treasury Department, which is expected by the end of September.

Now, New York unions are making a last-ditch effort to pressure the governor into opting out.

Numerous teachers’ unions and left-wing activism groups rallied in Manhattan on Wednesday to oppose school choice.

“We don’t have to guess what will happen if Gov. Hochul opts into Trump’s voucher program,” said NYC-based United Federation of Teachers President Michael Mulgrew. “The evidence is already clear in the other states that started their own voucher plans. Public schools lose funding while an ever-growing amount of taxpayer money is given to private schools that have no accountability to anyone – none.”

Randi Weingarten, head of the nationwide American Federation of Teachers, called the very premise of school choice discriminatory.

“Vouchers are not about school choice,” she claimed. “Vouchers are about allowing private schools to pick and choose who they admit, leaving the most vulnerable children behind.”

And Joy Williams, president of New York’s NAACP, further alleged the program would decrease funding for public schools.

“It is a tax scheme, and it is not about investing in our students, investing in our children. The point is divestment from public schools,” Williams said. “We have as a state – this Legislature, this governor – invested and continue to invest in public education. Continue that trend. Continue that path. Don’t opt us into this destruction of our public schools.”

However, Hochul’s office refuted the unions’ criticisms as factually inaccurate.

“Gov. Hochul’s priority is making sure every student receives an education that best meets their needs, which is why she wants the federal scholarship tax credit to benefit all New York students,” said a spokesperson for the governor. “These credits have the potential to expand academic opportunity for public and private school students across our state without diverting resources from public schools or state and local budgets.”

Since the Education Freedom Tax Credit is a federal credit funded by private donations, it has no effect on local or state education dollars.

And plenty of New Yorkers already support the school choice program and are encouraging Hochul to make good on her promise to opt in.

“This program offers a source of funding, at no cost to the state education budget, that can expand access to tutoring, afterschool programming, special education services, and other supports that are too often out of reach for lower-income families,” said a letter sent by nearly 40 education-related groups, including public charter schools.

“We believe New York can shape its participation in ways that meaningfully benefit public school students.”

Hochul is one of two Democratic governors to indicate participation in the program, although several others are considering it.

New York is also one of 16 states without a school choice program, which would change if it joins the federal tax credit program.